VERY Important ADF QT & treatment for Chytrid Fungus

This is a quarantine procedure we at FnF have come up with, for keepers of African Dwarf Frogs.
It is especially important if you already have frogs, and you plan on getting more that you read this article fully. Your frogs life may depend upon it.

Why make a new special QT for ADFs?
We have been seeing a large increase in a disease in newly purchased ADFs that is a quick killer. We are working on an exact diagnosis and treatment right now,
but suspect it is the Chytrid fungus
(pronounced "Kit-Rid") that is now affecting amphibians all over the world. The Fungal name is Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and the disease name
is Chytridiomycosis.

This fungus lives on a frogs skin, and is spread by an affected frog being in the same tank with healthy frogs. It is spread by fungal spores that pop off the
sick frogs skin, and attach to healthy frogs skin, where it replicates.
Symptoms can vary from the ADF having tattery sheds or very bad looking skin, trying to climb out of the water, spazzing/thrashing at the surface, not eating,
floating or hiding all the time, and finally death almost 100% of the time.
We dont think this fungus is transmittable to fish, only amphibian skin seems affected.
Personally, I recently rescued an ADF, did a short 3 week QT, and then put it in my tank with my other frogs.
Within 3 weeks, more than half my frogs were dead, all with the above symptoms, especially climbing out of water. I had kept my other frogs for over a year in
extremely good heath until this event.
NOTE: any time you see your frogs doing any of these symptoms,
check water parameters immediately. Check for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate,
and PH, to be sure there is no water problems that could be the cause.

This is an image of the frog which transmitted the fungus into my tank,
her name was Pugley.
Notice how bad her skin looks. Dry and wrinkled, almost like she needs to shed, but never did.
The boy frog (Wimpy) amplexing on her died within a week,
proximity to the infected frog seems to have something to do with the ease of spore transmission, frog to frog.

QT Procedure:
So, in order to make sure we do not infect our frog tanks,
newly aquired frogs should be kept in Quarantine for at least 2 months, as this is the amount of time it takes to see symptoms, and usually death. I would much
rather a new frog die in quarantine, as sad as that is, than to infect my healthy frogs home.
Be sure to use different aquatic tools for the QT as to not cross contaminate,
If you use the same baster for feeding all tanks, you could transfer the
spores to the healthy tank, and thus cause the fungus to spread to it.

Even if you do not own any frogs yet, and these are your first ADFs,
the QT procedure should still be a period of 2 months, if you keep any other aquatic life.
By introducing the fungus to a healthy tank, you could make your other aquatic critters carriers of the fungus, which has unforseen consequences.

So you didnt do the above QT, and now your frogs are starting to get sick,
Time is of the essence at this point. Please post in the Emergency Room of FnF as we can help. We can help diagnose whether or not your frogs symptoms match
Chytridiomycosis, or another disease.

The main antifungal drug weve used with ADFs over the years, Maroxy, seems to do little to slow
the mortality in ADFs showing symptoms of this fungus. It is possible that it works with healthy frogs that have shown no symptoms from an infected tank, but
we just dont have enough information yet.
Maroxy seems to work well with most frog fungi, but once the above symptoms are present in our ADFs, we have not had much success.

The best idea so far is using
a treatment using Benzalkonium Chloride (see treatment below)
referencing a scientific study by Groff 1991, when the chemical Benzalkonium Chloride was used in baths to treat ADFs with similar symptoms.
FnF cannot guarantee that this a viable treatment,
and assumes no resposibility for any actions you may take.
We have had multiple successful treatments,
with my frogs surviving the treatment, the disease, and have remained healthy.

What if my frogs die from this, and I want new frogs?
If you will be introducing new frogs into a tank that has been infected, you should clean it and all tank accessories well. Throw away gravel.
This is known as Nuking
You use 10 to 1 water to bleach mix (20 to 1 for acrylic tanks) to kill any bacteria or fungi in the tank.
The trick to get the bleach out is rinse rinse rinse rinse with very hot water, and let it soak with a ton of dechlorinator.
I usually use about 10x to 20X the dechlorinator dosage to neutralize any bleach remaining in the tank.
If you smell any bleach after youre done, rinse and soak with more dechlor.

There is some reports of other techniques which supposedly kill the Chytrid fungal spores. We have no experience in this, but it is reported by scientists in
published studies on Pubmed.com.
One technique is by completely drying tanks and tank accessories.
Supposedly, the fungal spores cannot survive drying.

We suggest after nuking your tank,
let all parts dry completely, as this should be another
line of defense in keeping the chytrid away from your now clean tank.

Another thing reported is that the spores will be killed by a temperature of 37deg Celsius (about 99 deg F) for the period of 4-5 hours.
Use these techniques at your own risk, as we have not tried them yet.

Where do we go from here?
We will continue to update this QT procedure as we learn more.
We have preserved some of my infected frogs in formalin for analysis, and will be getting necropsies done soon to determine the disease responsible for their
death, then will come up with a treatment procedure if one is available.
If you have any questions about this QT procedure, please post
questions to the ADF board at FnF.

LOVE JBOT

Please feel free and start a thread about your frogs and we will answer any questions you may have.

We have had necropsies done on my preserved deceased frogs and have discovered that they were indeed infected with the Chytrid fungus. Many thanks to Dr Cohen and Dr Barbfor the pathology!

Slides were made of the frogs skin, whichclearly showed the signs of the Chytrid fungus in the skin..

We will post pictures of the slides as we get them.

As for the treatment I did on my frogs with the baths of Benzalkonium Chloride,The treatment was done back in early April,and I have had no losses since the baths I did.

Again, this treatment is very experimental,and was done as a last resort to save my remaining frogs.So far, it has not shown any ill effects on my frogs.

If you believe your frogs have this fungus,please contact FnF in the ER as soon as possible.

This technique is still experimental,so FnF cannot assume any liability for anything which might happenif you decide to do the treatment.

If you wish to attempt treatment,The next post will be a simplified treatment plan.Please post in this forum or the ER if you are attempting treatment, as we can help make sure you are doing it correctly.

IF you wish to try this treatment,here is the technique. This successful technique was developed in ascientific study done by Groff-1991 Read it here! (pdf file)We simplified it so anyone can do it for their frogs,without risk of fudging things up.

Note:If you are doing this technique,it is very important that all frogs in the same tank be treated,not just the ones showing symptoms. A frog can be infected by Chytrid and not show any symptoms til it is too late.It is important as well that the tank and tank accessories that were used for the tank be nuked with Bleach to kill any spores that remain in the water (see technique in the above post).Gravel and plants should be thrown away.The frogs cannot go back into this tank until treatment is over and the tank has been completely cleaned, as to minimize reinfection.The spores that transmit this fungus can live in the water without a host for up to 7 weeks, so this is very important.

Things to get!1. Benzalkonium Chloride at a 50% dilution.You can get it at National fish Pharmacy.com or fishyfarmacy.comYou can get a 50% for $20 plus shipping.

2. 2 measuring syringes(no needles needed)One can get them at a drug store.You'll need a 60 ml syringe, and a 1 ml syringe.If it says "cc" that's the same as "ml".

3. Distilled water (gallon)

4. a container to store the final mixture

5. A few gallons of a Spring water brand, one that matches closest to your tank's ph.(Ph around 7 or higher is recommended.Do not use Distilled/deionized water for the baths, as it is VERY soft,and can amplify the BC's potency to toxic levels)

6. A measuring cup that measures in liters

7. A few containers for the baths, I used a 1 gallon bucket, and some new tupperware containers which never had soap used on them.

8. A Hospital tank at 2-3 gallons per frog.

And really, just for your info,the baths are so mild, it's a very low risk thing, IMO.My frogs amplexed thru the whole thing.They were not affected negatively in ANY WAY.No thickening of skin, not freaking out...This treatment is less extreme than Maroxy or Maracyn 2 by a long shot.

Making a 1% solution from the 50% solution:1.You take 49 ml of distilled water,put it in a container (I used a new clean travel shampoo bottle sold at Walgreens, it's empty, never had shampoo in it)

2. Then take 1 ml of 50% BC. Put it in the container.Then you have 1% BC solution.(Clean out your 1cc syringe with distilled water after this to remove any residue of the BC)

DONE!!!!!!!!

The BC procedure for Chytrid in ADFs1. Take the spring water with a ph closest to yours,then measure out whatever amount you find easiest by liters.(preferably 2-4 liters) DO NOT USE TAP WATER FOR THE BATHS

NOTE Low ph or very soft water should be avoided when giving these baths, as Benzalkonium Chloride is more toxic in this case.ONLY use a 7.0 or higher spring water for the baths

2. Heat the water to the same temperature as the water the frogs are in.

3.Add .2ml of the 1% BC per liter of water (you would measure it out in the 1ml syringe)

NOTE:In example: I used Crystal Geyser for mine (ph 7.6 at the time), did baths of 2 liters,because that was the minimum height the heater would fit in the container.I did my baths in a bucket.So, I added .4 ml of 1%BC to the 2 liters. (.2ml per liter)I would have added .8 ml 1%BC to 4 liters, etc.....

4. Place the the frogs in the bath for 30 minutes

5. Use another container with some fresh same temp treated tap water as a rinse off station. Place the frogs in that for a minute or 2.This is just to rinse off more of the chemical before putting them back in a tank.

6. Then they go back into a clean HT non cycled tank, (at least a few gallons), with no substrate,I would replace the water with every bath.

You give 3 baths (do one every other day for 6 days), then wait 8 days, then give 3 more baths (a bath every other day for 6 more days)

In example:Days 1, 3, 5: BathDay 6-13: No BathDays 14, 16, 18: Bath

That's it!I was nervous at first, but I've done it on 2 groups of frogs, and have had the same experience.Frogs thrive, no bad experiences.

Again,we at FnF can not take any responsibility if you wish to try this,but we have had success saving African Dwarf frogs infected by Chytrid byusing this technique. Do this procedure at your own risk.If you want to try it, just post and we can walk you thru it.

Thanks for all the information about treating ADFs for chytrid. I'm going to try it because I have one frog who died of what was pretty clearly chytrid, and two others who are not yet showing symptoms.

My question is this: I have other fish in the same tank as the frogs. Is there any way I can treat them to prevent them from being carriers of the fungus, so that I can eventually put them back in the same tank once the crisis is over? (The other fish are three small neons.)

Hi Eliza,I would say you could treat the fish as well.BC at a 2mg/l solution shouldn't be harmful to fish,though I haven't personally done it.The instructions on the BC bottle says it can be used for medicated baths for fishes (anti fungal/anti bacterial/anti viral)

At our low dosage, it shouldn't hurt them at all.

I do not think you'd have to give as many baths though.The main worry is that there are free swimming zoosporangium in their water. So,I would do many 100% water changes before the fish bath (s)to lessen the possibility of reinfection.When transferring the fish, just transfer the fish, not the water.

I personally never put fish back with my frogswho were in the same tank during the Chytrid infection.I love my frogs so much,and didn't want any chance of reinfection.(this was just personal preference, I have many tanks, so theother fish have a tank with no frogs.)

LOVE JBOT

Neons are pretty prone to stress related problems though,so I would be very careul to make sure they don't get stressed and get Ich.

Thanks, I just e-mailed them and hope to get started soon.I have no clue how to start a new topic....LOL Jbot just e-mailed me to tell me of this link too so I think I have it covered for now. Thank you so much!! Donna

I wonder if we're totally dealing with the Chytrid fungus problem in our DAFs.

Raising the temperature to 30C to slow the fungus or even to 35-36C to killit may not be the whole answer.

After reading up more on CF, it seems that either the fungus kills by'injecting' toxins into the skin or the loss of the outer layer of skincauses massive electrolytes imbalances which kills the frog.

If so we need to reduce this imbalance to improve the frog's chances of survival?

Ok we're now killing the CF with chemicals and/or heat. But perhaps we needto treat our DAFs for this serious electrolytes (salt) imbalance during treatment?

The people treating land frogs give a liquid solution to treat for this.

I quote a CF treatment page for land frogs and other references.----------------------------------------------------------Chytrid causes internal changes to the frog's chemistry and these changesget more extreme the longer the frog has the disease.

To reduce the imbalance, you will need a solution called Amphibian Ringers(which will need to be ordered from a veterinarian) and another product fromthe vet called Calcium Sandoz.Do not substitute something else for these products - they must specificallybe Calcium Sandoz and Amphibian Ringers (although Calcivet might be usedonly if you are treating adult frogs and no tadpoles while Sandoz can beused for adults, juveniles and tadpoles).

The Calcium Sandoz is administered in drop form onto the frog's back at therate of .08 ml per 10 grams of bodyweight (so you'll also need to be able toweigh the animal on a digital scale).

Normal calcium maintenance would require one application per week but inchytrid, it might be acceptable to try this treatment every few days untilthe fluid retention is reduced. Do not overdose so if the bloatingdisappears after the first or second application, then reduce furtherapplications down to once per week.

The frog ringers is poured into a small bowl only to a shallow depth andthen sit the frog or toad in the bowl for at least 30 minutes. The soak inringers could also be repeated every few days until fluid retention/bloatingare reduced.

Chytrid fungus attacks the parts of a frog's skin that contain keratin (atough, fibrous protein that forms the basis of hair, nails, horns etc). Theskin of a sick frog then gets thicker and sometimes looks a bit different.

The fungus is thought to kill frogs either by releasing fatal toxins thatare absorbed by the frogs semi-permeably skin, or through damaging the skinso badly that the frog's water and electrolyte balance as well as theirrespiration are affected. The fungus also damages the nervous system,affecting the frog's behaviour.

The actual cause of death of frogs such affected is unclear,but two differing hypotheses have been suggested.The first is that the chytrid releases proteolyticenzymes or other active compounds that are absorbedthrough the permeable skin of the frog. The secondhypothesis is that the damage to skin function causedby the fungus alters the water or electrolyte balance ofthe frog, resulting in death.

I have read that treatment of Chytrid in land frogs before. Besides their size, I think the fully aquatic environment of our ADFs makes it difficult to know how beneficial the treatment would be, or a proper dosage.

I think there may be some value in using Amphibian Ringers solution as therapy for many sick frogs in general, as it is common practice with herp vets and zookeepers. I do not agree with that exact posted formula, btw. The formula I go by is:

A combination Ringers and calcium treatment may indeed be helpful, but we don't have any tested concentrations. It is something to think about - I wish we could get a herp vet's input on it. The Groff study gave us a BC concentration that had been used with a good survival rate in ADFs.

Its great to hear you all have use this and seen results. We have had a few people try the heat treatment with good results, but of course they did not test so we can't say for sure it helped. I was think this summer I might take some infected frogs test them to be 100% positive they are infected and then do the heat treatment and retest them. I will let you know the results when/if I do this. Stuart can tell you more about how its done. We to have has several frogs dieing. A few have been confirmed Chytrid deaths with the DNA testing. We have been recommending 3 months Q time at temps below 74 degrees. It seems at higher temps it can take 3 months to show up. Donna

I bought 2 ADF's on 3/17/08. The one was really active and the other one acted like a normal ADF. I thought the active one was healthy, but I think
chytrid affects the frogs
neurologically. She really swam alot. She passed away 2 weeks after I got her. I didn't see any tattery sheds of skin. She just acted nuts. She never
stopped swimming! The other frog, Bella, is still alive. She had one really little tattery shred of skin coming off. I decided to treat her with
Benzalkonium Chloride as I don't want to lose her. I gave her a treatment yesterday and today her skin is very tattery and big pieces of skin are coming
off and hanging off. Is this a good sign? I hope so!!! She is not trying to remove the skin herself.

The problem is that once the fungus is found, you usually have VERY limited time to try and treat until the
frog dies. The other issue being that these ADFs are an aquatic species is that some of those
"natural" treatments can be just as toxic to a frog as Benzalkonium Chloride.

We mostly deal with pet owners here, and to rely on something natural is not as important to most as
getting your frog healthy again is. To do experiments on something that might /might not work would
be too hit and miss when dealing with the urgency of the treatment.
When I realized my frogs had Chytrid and I needed to treat, more than half were dead already....

A scientific study would be needed with a huge sample of frogs to know
what other treatments might work, and at what dosage and method (bath, rubbing on skin, put into tank)

That's where I got the BC treatment from, from a study using 10,000 frogs as the study group.